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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26564992">AU!Cat-hybrid Akira</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaylavillain/pseuds/kaylavillain'>kaylavillain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro Lives, Akira has ombrophobia (fear of rain), Akira is a cat hybrid, Bird/Human Hybrids, Boys Kissing, Cat Ears, Cat/Human Hybrids, Catboy!Akira, Comfort, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Pets, Phobias, Status Effects, These tags are mixed up lol, Violent Thoughts, akechi’s thoughts are a bit violent but he’s being his most nice self, body switch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:07:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26564992</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaylavillain/pseuds/kaylavillain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A combination of one-shots with Cat-Hybrid Akira. They used to be posted separately but I decided to put them into a single work.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. safe from rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Akechi comes to Leblanc one cold night to find out that Akira - the fearless Leader of the Phantom Thieves - is afraid of rain.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>my first time ever writing fluff/sweet stuff; but i was feeling very down and overworked and.. this was the result. i hope that you’ll enjoy ❤️</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">From the first time that Goro had met Akira, he could sense the fact that raven was somehow <em>different</em> from the rest of the major society.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Maybe it was the grace in each step that the other took without much thought put into it, maybe it was the way how his voice sounded like honey to brunet’s ears, maybe it was the way how his eyelashes flattered in the light or maybe it was the way how smart and idealistic his interests and points of view were.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Akira was somehow different, and it was something that screamed at Goro to get closer to the other. To uncover all the possible secrets and mysteries that the teen was hiding deep down and to break down all the walls that the raven had put up. Even though the boy could seem like an open person with the personality of a social butterfly, there wasn’t much known about him. Things like his hometown, family, connections before Tokyo—<em>heck</em>—even his hobbies and interests were a secret. That pissed off the Ace Detective, because he longed for that knowledge. Wanted to savor it and remember well.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em> <span class="s2">He did not want for Akira to die without Goro ever finding out what kind of person the other was to begin with.</span> </em>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The detective had joined the Phantom Thieves around the time when an incident with Makoto went down. The boy was investigating the group, and as they put in the key words for Kaneshiro’s Palace into the MetaNav — the brunet got dragged in together with them inside the distortion, which resulted in teens joining all together. At first everything was going well. Akira and him would constantly hang out together, he got along with Ann, began to fix his relationship with Makoto, went on few art exhibitions with Yusuke and even started genuinely enjoying conversations with Ryuji, out of all people.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">He even had considered asking the thieves to change Shido’s heart. That was until the politician one day had called him into his office and began voicing out his plan. The fact that he wanted to hack the Phan-Site with fake Medjet, have Goro assassinate Okumura and then ambush the Leader of the Phantom Thieves inside Nijima’s Palace. The chuckle that followed after the man was done explaining his master plan was so cruel. And yet - brunet had no choice but to obey. There was no way he could confide with the thieves, especially after Futaba had joined their group. He knew that they were not going to listen to him nor forgive him for being the monster that he was.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Instead, he decided to make the best out of it. He should have been distancing himself - that was for sure, but he could not push himself away from Akira.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">It all came crushing down on him when one late night Goro had walked into Leblanc, the shoulders of his coat were wet from the heavy rain outside and his umbrella was slightly dripping down on the carpet at the entrance. Sojiro cocked his eyebrow up, and then deeply sighed. The detective was not supposed to be here so late for a cup of coffee, so he must have been here to see Akira. The owner of a cafe groaned while setting down the freshly wiped cup into its usual place, and went around the counter.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Did Akira call you?” He asked, Goro shook his head, “It’s just.. He’s afraid of rain, so I thought that maybe that’s why you are here.” The older man gave a glance at the stairs that lingered with dead silence. There was no light coming from the attic how it normally would - it was all dark, “His cat is also not here, Futaba took it. <em>Argh</em>- I knew I should have told her to leave that thing be..”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira is afraid of rain?” Brunet finally managed to ask. The information was something that he had never heard before. It was a raw piece of vulnerability that Akechi took in. And yet, knowing how brave and fearless raven was, it was astonishingly hard to believe that his fear would be so.. <em>childish</em>.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Shitless.” Sojiro snorted, “I even once found him in the morning sleeping in the bathroom. I think it was around the time when he had just moved in.” The man’s smiling feature fell all of a sudden when he heard some walking happening on the upper floor, “But.. seriously, kid, maybe you should come back next time. It’s quite a serious phobia that he has.”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Is there.. a particular reasoning to such behavior?” Akechi questioned, feeling himself get more curious. He knew slightly about phobias. Things like Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) was the only fear that could be earned genetically. It had something to do with the way how in the past - few thousand years ago - there was a large amount of poisonous spiders, so naturally humans began to associate danger with them which turned into an instinct. Meanwhile most other phobias were earned either through trauma or self-conviction.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I’ve got zero idea, kid. But when his parents handed me him - they warned me about it. Said things like he might not want to talk, hide somewhere or not even go to school on the next day. I’ve never seen him slacking off, though.” Sojiro walked towards the hanger at the door, and began putting on his coat, “Just in case of somethin’ leave him be and don’t hold his harsh reactions against him, ‘kay? I left the keys on the counter.” And with that the man opened up the door which for a second unleashed the loud roar of a heavy rain into the space, but the moment bells had stopped jiggling - the sound of rain had disappeared together with them.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Akechi was a bit stunned, having no idea what he should do. His first course of action was to set down his case on one of the chairs, then lock the door to the cafe (Sojiro thankfully had already flipped the sign to ‘<em>closed</em>’) and soon he began slowly, quietly making his way upstairs.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira?” He called out, but dead silence followed. This was rather funny situation, after all, because raven having such a childish fear played out as a reminder that the other was not just the Leader of the Phantom Thieves.. but he was also a 16 year old teenager, same as his friend group. He was so young.. <em>and Akechi will have to cut his life short. </em>No<em>. Now was not the time to think about that</em>, “Akira, are you alright? I am going up.” He warned the other, and that was when finally a voice followed up with a reply.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“N-no! Don’t!” Akira’s voice seemed to be muffed with something, but the detective could not tell what it was. His words stuttered against each other, and something got dragged across the floor for a second, “Don’t come u-up!”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira, Sojiro told me about your situation. But.. that sounds worse than I had expected. Are you sure you’re alright? Maybe there is some sleeping medicine that you should take? Or maybe calming pills? I actually have some with myself—“ the brunet got cut off with a slightly annoyed whine from the other.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Don’t t-take this personally, G-goro, but.. please.. just.. l-<em>leave</em>.” That slightly stung the other. He found himself wishing that Akira trusted him more, and instead of pushing away would stretch out his arms for comfort.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"><em>‘Wait. What the actual fuck am I thinking. He’s a trash living in the attic. So what if we get along? He’s still my rival. I can get a chance to see him at his weakest point. Why should I listen to what he tells me to do? He’s pathetic.’</em> </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The part of him that was occupied with Loki thought in a more sadistic way. It imagined ignoring all the words that Akira spitted out and just do whatever he personally wants. He wanted to burn it into his memory: the raven shaking from fear, and fully vulnerable. Another side that was filled with Robin Hood protested against that.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <em> <span class="s2">‘You must respect his wishes. You will take away his life at the end, but for as long as he is alive you must be understanding to him. Be kind and gentle.’ </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira-“ he was about to say more but got interrupted with a thunder blasting outside - completely dulling all the sounds for a moment and making cafe flash with white. Akechi had never been the type to dislike thunderstorms, but he found them rather distracting and annoying. A small whimpering noise followed from upstairs and someone crawling away. The detective sighed, knowing that leaving the other be would also be highly wrong, “Akira, I’m going up.”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">And he did. His steps heavily stepped on the wooden floor, creaking with each thud and the mini-heels on his leather light-brown shoes loudly clicked, letting the raven know that he was fast approaching.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Once he was in the familiar room, he took off his shoes. Just as Sojiro had told him Morgana was nowhere to be seen, but similar could be said about Akira himself. The sheets that raven had put up on the old mattress that he called his bed - were all messily ruffled, and the blanket was done. Most things in the attic were tidied up, even though the dust was just like always flying in the air; raven was a clean freak, a perfectionist.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira? Where are you?” He called out, but did not get a reply. There was no way that the other jumped out of the window because, a) it was shut close; b) who in the right sense of mind would jump forward towards their own phobia?</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">He walked around the place for a while and that was when he finally had noticed a form, fully wrapped up in a layer of fabric under the working table violently shaking in its spot.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira..” his voice came out a lot quieter now; the detective crouched down in from of the other teen and gently placed his hand on where he assumed Akira’s shoulder or back would be, “It’s okay..” as an answer came out a shuddered breath, but surprisingly the raven did not flinch away - as if he knew that brunet was right next to him, “Put the blanket down a bit..” he tried to push off the fabric in order to see the boy’s face.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I can’t.” That was the quickest reply that he had ever gotten through this whole evening.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Why?” Akechi furrowed his eyebrows; confused.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I don’t know what you will do to me if I will.” Brunet blinked in surprise, <em>what was that even supposed to mean?</em></span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“What does that mean-“ he got cut off with another thunder hitting the ground, blinding his vision for a moment. The boy in front of him had jumped in his place; pushing off Akechi’s palm from his shoulder which made the blanket slip down the raven’s head that revealed.. <em>cat ears?</em></span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">On two sides of Akira’s head brunet saw two, fluffy black cat ears that were pressed down in a frightful way. The moment raven realized what had happened, he tried to hide away once again but his wrist got caught in Akechi’s hold who could not stop staring in disbelief. <em>Was that alignment effect? A toy? What-?</em></span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“What? <em>How</em>?” Brunet then looked inside the boy’s eyes and saw toxic-green irises with sharp pupils staring back at him. They looked similar to Morgana’s or any other cat’s eyes, just with more unusual color. Akira looked down in shame and terror; the grip that detective had on raven’s wrist tightened, “What- How did this happen?”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“<em>I.. I was born like this.</em>” Confessed the other, and that was when Akechi noticed two sharp fangs shine just for a moment from teen’s mouth. Something kept wiggling at the back, and as blanket slipped down further, a thin, long noir cat tail got revealed while swinging left and right showing clear discomfort and stress from the given situation.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I’ve seen only one hybrid before.. but they are so rare.. and usually if even one is found they are immediately sent into laboratories.. Since they’re known to go berserk.” Brunet was speaking without much thought into it.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“That’s n-not true! We don’t go berserk out of blue! We’re safe to the world.. it’s the <em>world</em> that is not safe for us..” Akira leaned back, his body hit the wall behind him. His knees were curled up to his chest, and he was hugging them close, “Are you going to give me in..? You’ll get quite a reward-“</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“<em>No</em>.”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“No?” Akira repeated, shocked.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“No.” Akechi nodded his head, and then gently smiled while his hand moved on its own. The gesture slightly startled both of them as all the other could do was cup raven’s face with his gloved hand, “My mom was a hybrid too. I did not inherit her genes.” He added, and all the other did was hum, “But she was a half-bird..”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Ah.. I.. I got the genes from my dad. My mom is a human.” Akira explained, “The school, Sojiro and even Morgana don’t know. I think he suspects it, though, he just does not talk about it with me. To school I wear a wig on top of my head in order to hide my real ears.. It hurts, but eventually it becomes old and you get used to it.” His head leaned towards the other’s hand, and his eyelashes fluttered close.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“So.. you really are a cat.” Brunet grinned with amusement, stroking the boy’s cheek with his thumb. <em>This felt domestic. This felt right. </em></span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I hate not being a human..” confessed the hybrid, his face suddenly scrunched up like he were in pain, “It’s.. overwhelming. To never know who to truly trust, and having a feeling that in the end you will always get betrayed.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2"><em>‘I am going to betray you, too. You are a naïve, foolish piece of shit.’ </em>Loki almost roared into his head, ‘<em>You are beautiful, pure and I long for your affection.’ </em>Corrected Robin Hood with pride in his own tone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Akira, this makes you who you truly are. We all sometimes wish to be someone else, but at the end we must realize that it won’t happen. You cannot be anyone else but yourself. And.. there is no need to be ashamed of your nature.” Akechi’s eyes radiated warmth, and all he could truly think about was how fake and twisted he had to be. <em>Was he lying to this little, weak pathetic creature?</em> It did not matter.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Both of their worlds went spinning in a sick carousel as all of a sudden raven pulled the detective by the collar of his shirt and smashed their lips together in a <em>kiss</em>. It was quick, and being scared of rejection Akira immediately pulled away a moment after, but soon enough Akechi brought him back to seal their mouths once again in a deeper kiss. Brunet’s right hand gripped at the boy’s soft locks, and the other went around his waist - trying to bring them closer. This felt like fire in the cold night, as if Akira was the only thing in this world capable to keep him away from freezing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <em> <span class="s2">‘I will destroy you.’ </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The two of them pulled back; cat-hybrid panted for breath, the rain outside calmed down together with his anxiety. There was a rosy blush on each of their cheeks, they looked like a typical teenage couple who had just discovered their feelings for each other. Both flustered and awkward.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“I think I have feelings for you, Goro.” Murmured the raven, while leaning in towards a human boy and resting his forehead on brunet’s shoulder. His cat ears had perked up, most of the tension was gone from his body, “I think I had them for a long time now. Which is.. embarrassing. First time when I began feeling attached to you was when.. we met.. I already felt different around you. Like I could be more honest, more reckless — more <em>myself</em>.” Akechi sneaked his hand around the other’s jaw and slowly lifted his head up. Their eyes locked together, and all it took is for the detective to lean in forward again to peck his nose, moving to his cheek, and then neck.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">The hybrid shuddered in his hold and took a sharp breath in as he felt human’s breath ghost around his skin. Akira bit down on his lower lip with his sharp fangs instantly piercing through the skin and making some blood drip down. It was not much as he licked it away quickly, without Akechi even noticing.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“You smell.. like <em>honey</em>. At the same time there is something spicy in your scent, but no matter where you would go I could always tell where you are.. because the room would be filled with sugary smell. Sometimes it made me feel dizzy, even mad at you. Mostly, I was angry at myself for.. not being human and acting normal.” Akira gasped for air as he felt other’s teeth sink into his snowy skin and leave a mark behind.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“<em>I like you too, Akira</em>.” Brunet finally spoke after a long silent treatment, and raven felt his stomach burst with butterflies; his tail stilled in its place meanwhile his heart pounded in his throat. He must have looked like an idiot, “Liked you for a while now. You are the only person in this world who had managed to be on the same level as me. Challenge me, piss me off and even fight me. Spending hours with you felt like seconds, and it was simply never enough.” Akechi reached for his glove with his teeth, pulling it off to reveal his gorgeous hands. They went behind the boy’s head with an idea in mind.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“May I?” He asked; brunet knew better than to just touch a cat-hybrid without asking first. Their most sensitive areas had been ears, base and tip of the tail. Even though he had never met a creature like Akira before, he was required to know basic knowledge about them before stepping into the police force. After receiving a nod from the other, his fingers began scratching the other’s scalp just in the right spot behind the fluffy ear.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">Akira’s eyes shut close and his head tilted to the side to give the detective better access; completely submitting to the touch and dropping any possible guard that he had before.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>One day Akechi was going to shoot this precious little thing in front of him; make his brains splash all over the walls and stage it up as suicide, and he was going to make sure to enjoy it. He will stare at the corpse for as long as he would want to and get a full taste of this dark accomplishment. What could be better than murdering in cold blood someone who you love with your whole being? There was no need for Akira to live without Akechi anyway. If hybrid truly loved him then he would forgive human for stealing away his life.</em><br/>
<em>He would die for him. </em>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">But for now, all that he wanted to think about and focus on were the <em>purrs</em> that Akira began to give off. It started out as a small, faint sound in the depth of the boy’s throat, but soon turned louder, and louder the more he put the hybrid into animalistic trance. It radiated against his finger tips and made tingles ran down his spine; the sound was relaxing and somewhat rewarding.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“<em>I’ll keep you safe from rain, Akira.</em>” He promised the other, while bringing him close to himself and lifting him up in a bridal style; carrying the teen towards the bed. The two of them could barely fit on the mattress together, but after enough moving around and adjusting their positions they finally found a way. Both of them nested under the blanket with Akira’s leg hooked around Akechi’s waist, meanwhile brunet’s arm rested over raven’s petite body, bringing him close to his chest in a tight hold, “<em>Even if that will be the last thing that I’ll do, I will keep you safe from rain.</em>” The hybrid’s cheeks blushed in peach shade with a heart-warming smile spreading it’s way across his face; he looked like the happiest being alive. His tail automatically curled around detective leg, not planning on letting go.</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s2">“Thank you.. Goro..” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <em> <span class="s2">‘But I won’t keep you safe from myself.’ </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>just a quick note that phobias are in no way childish. i myself suffer from phobias. its a serious, disturbing fear that is out of your control. it can cause a person to feel nauseous, paralyzed, panicked or even give someone a heart attack. in akira’s case he has to immediately hide. you cant “get over” a phobia, its a mental condition, and some people treat it by actually going to a professional.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. careful, hide your claws</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>During one of the unlucky encounters with the Shadow in Mementos, Akechi and Akira switch bodies. Shouldn’t be that problematic, but it is, since one of them is a human and the other one is a cat hybrid.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some things that I wish to say:</p><p>1) after akira’s and akechi’s body switch i will be using words “brunet” to describe akechi and “raven” to describe akira. I just thought that it might be confusing if I won’t point it out oop</p><p>2) akechi’s personality is less fake because in these series he had been working alongside phantom thieves since kaneshiro’s palace; also his emotions are effected by being in a foreign body</p><p>3) all of these stories can be read separately, but they do happen in the same universe so yeah:D I hope you’ll enjoy!! ❤️</p><p>4) not checked properly for mistakes and grammatical issues. I wrote this bcs i was in the bad mood and here i am posting it wkjzmqms</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p></p>
  <div class="userstuff">
    <p>It was yet another trip to Mementos just as usual. They were almost done with Sae's Palace, but Akira had announced that he needed some cash asap in order to get more weapons and protections from Iwai, plus they had requests to complete.</p>
    <p>Seriously, shouldn't he be getting discounts by now at that sketchy shop? Not that Akechi really minded the overall idea, but surprisingly he was just simply not in the mood today. It could have been the weather affecting him or the fact that he spent the whole night thinking about the fact that in just a few days he was going to shoot in the head the boy who he had crush on - he wondered which one exactly caused him discomfort. <em>Probably the first one.</em> It had to be the first one.</p>
    <p>"Our target should be on this floor, let's scout around." Suggested Morgana, as the raven nodded his head while turning the wheel to go to the right side of the dark tunnel.</p>
    <p>It had been officially around 2-3 weeks since Akechi found out about their Leader's true nature, and to his surprise (or disappointment) it hasn't been mentioned between them not even once. The boy simply refused to talk about this and avoided the topic at any given moment, which made the brunet feel uncomfortable. He thought that during that night they found a special type of understanding between each other, but instead the hole that gaped between them had never been as deep as it was now. The only question that he had no answer to was '<em>why</em>?'.</p>
    <p>"Oracle, could we possibly get a scan?" Asked the hybrid, to which the hacker shook her head. It was amusing to see that his Metaverse costume covered up his ears and tail so well, and thanks to his Joker mask his cat eyes were also shielded away from anyone's unwanted sight.</p>
    <p>"Sorry, this place is all clogged up with something. Plus — it's too large. My Persona can't map it out." Apologized Futaba, while playing with her fingers to which the other shook his head.</p>
    <p>"That's alright, don't worry." He reassured her soon enough as he continued with his driving.</p>
    <p>Truth to be told ever since that night Akechi had been reading. He tried to find out about hybrids - especially cat hybrids - as much as possible, so that he would understand everything a lot better. He found out many things: their normal body temperature was 38 degrees celsius, they have different medicine from humans that they get either through their owners or illegal sales, they can see in the dark, they have a lot more sensitive senses, their most sensitive part of the body is their tail and the most interesting part is that every single cat hybrid can actually fully turn into a particular predator when they're facing extreme danger. This phenomenon was also known as going "berserk".</p>
    <p>"This is it!" Morgana's voice pulled him out of his thoughts as they stared at a red opening that led towards the Shadow, "Are you ready to go, Joker?"</p>
    <p>"Do you even have to ask?" Smirked the other, jumping straight into the portal. <em>Cocky</em>, Akechi thought while rolling his eyes and following behind the other.</p>
    <p>The target who they had today was an unusual one. It was a woman who constantly switched her emotions and personality in order to please everyone else around her and get what she wants. The one who posted the request on the Phan-Site was her ex-husband who lost almost everything after their divorce. Akechi was the one who was forced to look into most records about the case, and indeed, they found multiple strange traces of clear manipulation.</p>
    <p>"What are you all doing here?" The Shadow of the woman asked; her eyes were shining with golden in the dark. She looked at them with so much hatred and aggression, "Oh?" She blinked, "Are you perhaps the infamous Phantom Thieves of Hearts that everyone is talking about nowadays? What a pure nonsense!"</p>
    <p>"We came here to steal your heart, you hear us?" Ryuji shouted back at her while swinging his shotgun, "We can do it either the hard or the easy way — you choose!"</p>
    <p>"I am the victim here!" The lady barked back, "This is all so, so unfair! I did what I had to do, you know nothing! Nothing!”</p>
    <p>"We might not know much-" Ann spoke up, "-but playing with other people's feelings for your financial benefit is disgusting no matter how you look at it!”</p>
    <p>"None of you brats will ever understand!" She screamed back more aggressively, as her form popped into black and red sparkles and she transformed into her real form, "These sums of money I was collecting for my son! Do you how hard it was to always pretend like I am someone else in order tp get those?! Nobody ever thinks about what it is like to be me! Nobody! Nobody ever thinks what’s it like to be someone else, all they ever do is judge! You are no judge, you are the same humans as me!”</p>
    <p>"Let's end this, Joker." Akechi sighed, and the other nodded, "<em>Robin Hood!</em>" He called upon his Persona to get ready for the upcoming battle.</p>
    <p>"Crow, Fox and Queen - come to the front lines with me!" Commanded their Leader, with his teammates coming up without a question. "Crow, there is no need to use any insta-kill attacks, most likely she is immune to them! Queen, try out physical attacks, if that will work we will use them mostly since we are running low on SP. Fox, try freezing!" Orders were coming in almost every second since their enemy was as restless as they were.</p>
    <p>The Shadow mostly used Curse attacks, so Akira made sure not to switch to a Persona with a weakness like that, and he tried to shield Akechi whenever a spell came his way. He did consider removing the brunet from the front lines in general, but his Bless attacks were the most affective - so it was probably worth the gamble. They just had to be careful.</p>
    <p>"Disgraceful! Shameful children! Taste my wrath if you can! I will make you understand!" She screamed once again while casting an almighty attack.</p>
    <p>To the horror of the detective both his and Akira's health was way too low to properly withstand what was about to come, and yet automatically his body jumped forward like not his own in a weak attempt to shield the other from the damage. His legs sprinted forward to their Leader, arms wrapped instantly around hybrid's shoulders as their weights were crushed down on the ground with both of them groaning loudly in pain from an attack. Raven was breathing heavily under him, meanwhile Akechi felt like the world was turning into a cloud and the only thing that mattered was keeping the other boy safe.</p>
    <p>
      <em>They barely survived.</em>
    </p>
    <p>"Crow! Joker!" They both heard Futaba call out to them, but they couldn't move. Hybrid was probably barely conscious because detective's body was compressing him fully into the ground, but Akechi had no power to remove himself. His body felt paralyzed, and most likely he was not the only one.</p>
    <p>"Protect Joker!" Commanded Makoto, immediately taking over the lead since their Leader was out of it. But before other thieves could step in with their assistance, the Shadow grimaced while lifting up her hand and with a bloodcurdling scream casted out a curse spell that they have never seen before - right at Akira and Akechi.</p>
    <p>"What the hell is this shit?!" Ryuji panted, because the attack threw all of them away from the laying duo, "Mona? Oracle?" He asked the two, but both of them stayed quiet.</p>
    <p>"I- I don't know what just happened, but we might have to finish this up and quick!" The hacker said instead while activating her Persona and providing everyone with more HP to fight, "C'mon, guys! It's payback time!"</p>
    <p>It took them not that long to finish the fight. Both Akechi and Akira ended up passing out with Ann dragging them away from the battlefield and treating their wounds. They were not as bad physically, but she was still worried about the open bleeding wounds that nested their place on both boys. Once the fight with the Shadow was over, and Ryuji finished the discussion with a woman with another one of his cringe lines - the thieves gathered around their Leader and detective not knowing what to do.</p>
    <p>"Oracle, is there any way that you can check on their health?" Asked Queen as concern was hugely growing.</p>
    <p>"Yup, on it." Futaba nodded, as she typed something on a holographic keyboard in the middle of the air, "Oh." She gasped, blinking in surprise, "This is so weird! No way that's actually possible! Holy cows!"</p>
    <p>"W-what? What's wrong?" Ryuji asked while standing behind her, as if he was going to understand the numbers that showed up on the screen.</p>
    <p>"It shows that Joker's signal is inside Crow's body meanwhile Crow's signal is inside Joker’s body! It's like they've switched bodies! Unbelievable!" The red haired girl took a step closer to the boys and crouched down, "But overall both of their heartbeats are stable, everything except these cuts should be fine. And well.. The fact that they switched bodies?"</p>
    <p>"How did such bizarre thing even happened right in front of our eyes?" Yusuke was still not sure wether he could fully believe what he was hearing since all of this sounded like a made up story.</p>
    <p>"I think it was the Shadow's special ability.." Analyzed Makoto with a puzzled look on her face, "We should bring them back into the real world."</p>
    <p>"How long will this last..?" Asked Haru with a shaky voice, to which Futaba shrugged.</p>
    <p>"No idea." Was the only reply that she could offer as they all anxiously made their way back towards the entrance of Mementos with Akira and Akechi still asleep like little babies, "Let's just hope they won't freak out too much."<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br/></span></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>"<em>WHAT</em>?!" Akechi immediately sat up in his new body, and cringed at the way how it all felt. Everything was so much more foreign to him.</p>
    <p>At first his senses were a lot sharper now, but not in the "I leveled up" way, but in an uncomfortable, disturbing way as if he was drugged up on some type of medicine. His eyes hurt from the daylight, the fangs that Akira mastered at hiding during everyday discussions would not stop stabbing the detective in the cheek or tongue with every word; His body could feel some slight vibrations that he had never felt before, meanwhile his skin was literally on fire. <em>Was this normal or was raven actually sick?</em> He could not tell.</p>
    <p>The worst part of course was a <em>tail</em> that he had never experienced before in his life. It felt like an unneeded weight that pulled down on his spine, but at the same time balanced out his movements and positions. His ears - Akira's cat ears - <em>hurt</em>. It was that type of dulling pain that had been there for hours to the moment that it turns into a background sound, but Akechi simply could not stand the sensation of it as it transformed instantly into a migraine.</p>
    <p>"FIX THIS!" He ordered to Futaba, by accident biting his own tongue and crying out in surprise as he gripped his mouth closed.</p>
    <p>“I’m sure it will fade soon-“ Oracle was trying to reason with him, and that was when Goro’s body began to shift left and right. At first Akira looked around confused, not understanding what was going on until his whole face went white as a snow and the first thing he did was grab his own lower back.</p>
    <p>“WHAT?! WHERE DID-“ and that was when his eyes landed on his own body starting back at him, “Am I sleeping?” He blinked in surprise, while touching all over his - or Goro’s - face, “This is-“</p>
    <p>“Okay. Whatever, body switch that will soon fade it shouldn’t be that hard.” Detective’s words died on his tongue as he attempted on standing, but felt the base of the tail tug to a completely different side which made him fall back on his butt like an idiot, “What the hell is wrong with your balance?! Your body is so uncomfortable!”</p>
    <p>“Oh, c’mon, shut it. It’s easy—“ that was when Akira also tried to get up, but instead he did not feel the usual movement of his spine and fell right on Ryuji, who grabbed him just on time before he also landed on the floor, “How do you walk like this?!”</p>
    <p>“Did both of you just forgot how to move or something?” Oracle could not understand what was happening as she watched the two boys struggle, “You two are guys it shouldn’t be that hard!”</p>
    <p>“<em>IT IS!</em>” They said in union making thieves gasp in surprise.</p>
    <p>“Well... I guess we have no choice but to head home for today. We can’t do any Palace nor Mementos work until they switch back. Considering their state I think you should tell Boss that Joker is sick and won’t be coming to school... What a fun day.” Makoto decided, to which they all agreed until their heads twisted to the side after hearing a loud thud and groans.</p>
    <p>“Give — me — back — my — body—!” Akira after all somehow reached Goro and gripped on his collar while shaking him hard in frustration, “This is torture!” He whined after giving up and simply resting his forehead on Goro’s chest. The rest of the group exchanged a glance and sighed.</p>
    <p>“Let’s bring them home..” Ann concluded while sneaking her hand around Akira and lifting him up with Haru’s help, meanwhile Makoto and Yusuke worked with Akechi. Morgana turned into a bus and patiently waited for everyone to climb inside.</p>
    <p>Yusuke pushed Goro onto a seat to which he instantly jumped as he felt pain shot from his tail all the way to his neck and feet. The artist threw him right on top of its base - which hurt. And the pain was not softening, <em>how in the world did Akira live like this every day?</em></p>
    <p>“Goro are you alright?!” Haru asked, seriously worried about the way how boys were acting. After a minute he managed to form a reply.</p>
    <p>“Y-yeah.” He grunted, while shifting in his seat. Akira did not say anything and that was when he realized that the other was asleep again, “When did he-“</p>
    <p>“He blacked out while we carried him.” Ann explained, as she sat on a passenger’s seat next to Makoto, “But maybe it’s for the best seeing how the two of you are behaving. Should I put a sleeping spell on you?” She questioned, and after some thought the detective shook his head. Akira was a cat hybrid and that was the reason why the two of them could not adapt to each other’s bodies. He knew that raven spent quite some time to hide his tail and ears, and who knows what thieves might discover by accident if Akechi was going to black out. He had to stay conscious.</p>
    <p>“No, it’s alright. Let’s just go back.”</p>
    <p>The drive back took them around an hour, so the brunet began more or less adjust to the new body. As he sat in his place he decided to analyze the situation: if they switched bodies and this effect would last all the way until they had to steal Sae Nijima’s Treasure - <em>how was he going to kill Akira?</em> Before he could brainstorm about this for too long, Mona-bus stopped on his tracks and the group began coming out with still their unconscious Leader.</p>
    <p>“Why is he asleep for so long...? Should we take him to the hospital?” Haru wondered along, to which Akechi’s eyes widened.</p>
    <p>“No. I’m sure he is fine. Don’t worry, I can look after him. I heard that he just has a special.. condition. That could be effecting him.” He tried to explain without sounding suspicious. Ryuji apparently had plans to be difficult tonight and not let his best friend inside almost stranger’s house without a fight.</p>
    <p>“No. He’ll stay with me.” The blond said, “My mom is not going to mind.”</p>
    <p>“I don’t trust my body near you.” Detective folded his hands over his chest.</p>
    <p>“And I don’t trust Joker near you.” The other spatted back, the two of them began to get irritated. And that was when he felt it - a growl from the depth of his throat, it was quiet, but threatening. He felt his muscles around wrist area contrast which resulted in an uncomfortable feeling around his nails. In a mere second he glanced down and realized that Akira’s body reacted to an argument as if he were in danger and grew short claws. Thankfully he was wearing gloves, but goodness staying in this body without knowing anything was becoming more and more problematic.</p>
    <p>“It’s alright. I’ll go over to his.” Akira finally woke up, probably still dizzy since he was rubbing his eyes and looking around like he was lost, “Did I.. hit my head? I can barely hear any of you.” The raven cringed while getting up, this time not falling as he leaned against the wall for support.</p>
    <p>“Did you just say that Crow’s half deaf?” Grinned Ryuji, happy to find anything to bully the detective for.</p>
    <p>“It’s more like Joker has a hearing of an animal.” Rolled his eyes the brunet as he as pulled out his phone, only to realize that it was not his, “I guess it’s decided then - Joker and I will stick together until this effect will fade. Alright?”</p>
    <p>“We don’t have any choice..” furrowed her eyebrows Makoto, “I will make sure to send you the school material that you’ll miss, in case this will take longer than planned.”</p>
    <p>“And I will take care of Sojiro!” Futaba showed thumbs up while they all nodded and pressed on the Navigation app in order to come back to reality. The distortions melted into the thin air with black and red dismissing everything back into the streets of Shibuya.</p>
    <p>“Let’s go, Akira.”</p>
    <p>“Mhm.”</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>-</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Akechi’s apartment was clean, but at the same time it felt way too empty. There were no special decorations, no photos of anyone - nothing. The floors looked like they required some washing and the shelfs definitely needed a wipe from dust. The place did not even look like anyone lived in here.</p>
    <p>“Do you... clean here?” Carefully asked Akira, walking in. It was strange to hear his rival’s voice come out instead of his own.</p>
    <p>“Yes, of course.” Was all that the other said, “You can leave the shoes at the entrance.” Detective added, while finally pulling off the wig and ruffling his (or Akira’s) hair, “How in the world do you live like this? Your ears feel numb.”</p>
    <p>“I know.” Shrugged Akira, as he followed the other into the apartment, “I have the same question for you, learning how to walk without a tail is still weird to me.. I hope we switch back soon.”</p>
    <p>“Does your tail help you balance when you walk even when it’s stuffed in your pants?” Questioned the detective while carefully taking a seat on the sofa - avoiding the base so that the situation in the bus was not going to repeat, “How does that even work.”</p>
    <p>“I mean.. I never really think about it, it just does.” Then there was that silence again that none of them liked. The two boys just sat on the sofa, and while the brunet was sitting in the middle, the other scooped all the way to the right side while pretending that the wall was the most interesting thing in the world.</p>
    <p>“Okay. Let’s break the ice. What did I do?” Akechi sighed, as he plumped back and looked up at the hybrid who was currently inside the human’s body, “If you’re embarrassed that I found out about your phobia, it’s alright. I am not judging, but I also hate this distance that happened between us, so—“</p>
    <p>“Do you know how to cook?” Akira turned around, and looked at the kitchen inside the detective’s living room. Without further explanation he stood up, while weirdly moving his legs and came up to a fridge, “It’s empty. Why?”</p>
    <p>“Why does that matter? I just get a takeout most of the time.” The detective was extremely confused at the sudden change of topic. He was never taught how to cook when he was a child, so he just stuck to instant cooking foods for years without much complaint.</p>
    <p>“I will cook you something. I feel like it, is that alright?” The Leader of the phantom thieves asked while shutting the fridge that was about to peep from being open for too long.</p>
    <p>“A-alright... I don’t have any groceries, though. So I will show you to the nearest store.”</p>
    <p>It was right in front of the building, and through the whole trip the thief refused to tell the detective what he had on his mind. Altogether brunet could not piece together from the ingredients what all of this was supposed to be. He grabbed from sweet all the way to salty and spicy stuff, and bottles of water? <em>What</em>?</p>
    <p>“Cash or card?” Asked the cashier, and suddenly gasped at seeing Akechi (who was inside Akira’s body), “Kira-san, you haven’t been here for a while? How have you been!” She questioned, her eyes sparkling at the sight.</p>
    <p>“U-uhm.” The detective swallowed a nervous cough, but before he could form any words the other took over the lead in the conversation.</p>
    <p>“I’ll pay with a card. Sorry, he’s very stressed today. But I will make sure to make him come back for a shift soon.” The brunet cringed at the way how Akira even used the TV smile and voice that he would make. This cat was getting way too comfortable. <em>And seriously, why does everyone seem to know him in this town?</em></p>
    <p>“Ah, I see. That’s right, I heard that it has been raining pretty hard these days.” She nodded in acknowledgement while handling the bag, “Have fun you two!”</p>
    <p>“We will.”</p>
    <p>The moment they were outside of the store detective shook the other by the shoulder. Akira stumbled back, but the weight of the two massive bags kept him on the ground. The fact that brunet got to witness his own body doing face expression that it never does was so fucking weird.</p>
    <p>“What was that about? You work there?” He asked, to which the other nodded, “And you did not tell me?”</p>
    <p>“Why would I? Is that a crucial information?” Akira rolled his eyes, “Let’s go - the sky is getting cloudy.” Akechi sighed and followed up behind the other, not suggesting to help with the groceries because he was certain that the tail was going to act up again and he would fall. Instead of stairs they decided to use an elevator, so soon enough they were back in a familiar hallway with around 4 apartments per floor.</p>
    <p>“Do you have noisy neighbors?” Questioned Akira as Akechi was unlocking the door.</p>
    <p>“No, why?” The door creaked open with the two of them stepping inside and taking off their shoes. Since it was already darker than before, Akechi turned on the main lights.</p>
    <p>“Because with my ears you will hear them.” Grinned the thief as he carried the bags towards the kitchen, “Watch something while I cook. This place really needs some life in here. Do you have any allergies?”</p>
    <p>“No, I don’t. And you know.. you’re being way too comfortable here.” Cringed the detective even though if he was being honest he did not mind that much.</p>
    <p>He read that part somewhere about cat hybrids. Even though they were ranked on the list as one of the most dangerous creatures - they were also extremely domestic. It was quite popular just a few years ago to keep someone like that as a servant around the house because they were known to be naturally good at things like cleaning, cooking and creating comfortable atmosphere. Even though now Akira was not inside his own body, his mind was still the same. Perhaps if the detective wished to get closer to the other, he should let him do what he wanted for now.</p>
    <p>“Why would you ask me if I have any allergies when we switched bodies?” Suddenly realized Akechi as he sat down on a sofa and reached for the remote, meanwhile Akira was cutting something by now.</p>
    <p>“So that I would know if while I am cooking I can taste test.” Explained raven while pulling out bottles of water and placing them in the fridge, “That’s better.”</p>
    <p>“Why did you even get me that? Also, I should really give you back—“</p>
    <p>“No. I did this because I wanted to. Consider this a present for keeping my secret even after we switched bodies, ‘mkay?” Right. They still did not talk about that, and this was the first time in weeks that hybrid raised the topic.</p>
    <p>But detective decided to leave him be while watching some show. In reality, the TV played as a background noise as he melted into the pillow and laid down, finally managing to find a position in which the tail was not getting in his way. He closed his eyes, and the only thing that now mattered was the sound of humming that Akira’s was producing, the smell of something delicious that he was making and the feeling that he got once he registered the honey that was filling up the whole room. Last time the two of them talked hybrid said something along the lines of “<em>bittersweet scent was anywhere where you were, I could always tell where you are</em>”. Now he understood. <em>So, that was how Akira registered him in his own system? Interesting.</em></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>“You fell asleep.” He felt a tap on his forehead, and whined. He could not even remember taking a nap, but well, “Hungry?” Seeing his own face blink and pout like that was cringe, until he recalled that this was Akira who often made this dumbfounded expression.</p>
    <p>“Y-yeah... Actually, I just realized.” He slowly sat up, “What time is it..?” He questioned, searching for his clock but the other was faster with a reply.</p>
    <p>“It’s 11pm, dinner time!” Grinned Akira as he pointed his head towards the table that had two plates filled with food. The dish thankfully was not curry, but it smelled amazing - it was enough to make Akechi’s mouth water just at the sight.</p>
    <p>“It’s too late to eat, I think we should go to sleep for now.” He held himself back, “I hope you were not planning to have dinner at this moment.”</p>
    <p>“Uhm... I mean.” The other looked away, blushing, “Can you at least.. try? It took me a while so..” After a small debate he sighed, while standing up. For a moment he forgot about having a tail, and yelped as it harshly moved to the side and completely knocked both him and Akira off their feet. The next moment he opened his eyes he was laying on top of the other - their faces centimeters away.</p>
    <p>None of them moved, and they just stayed still while admiring each other’s sight. Finally, Akira lifted up his hand as he put it on Akechi’s cheek and leaned in for a kiss. Detective’s heart exploded with an adrenaline rush, and he felt his tail still in the air unable to move. His vision seemed to have brightened and all scents spilled all over his head. The boy felt high on drugs. <em>Was that how it felt last time for Akira when they kissed?</em></p>
    <p>The moment he pulled back he noticed something strange. His back was against the floor and there was heavy weight on top of him, with someone panting right into his ear. It was in that moment that it hit him that the two of them switched back together.</p>
    <p>“A-akira...” his voice was hoarse, but it finally felt right. He was once again comfortable in his own skin, “Akira?” He asked again, and did not receive an answer until he sneaked his hand around raven’s waist.</p>
    <p>“Goro... Your smell is <em>everywhere</em>...” was all that he said, to which the other chuckled - now he could say that he genuinely understood how overwhelming that was.</p>
    <p>“Sorry for that. Let’s go eat, <em>my kitty</em>.” The detective gently said, feeling proud at how flustered he made raven feel. Akira’s breath hitched at the back of his throat at the pet name, but soon enough a knowing smile followed together with low purrs.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. you’re absolutely precious</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A story in which Goro Akechi decided to adopt a puppy, but his boyfriend is not so happy about it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Maybe that was a bad idea after all</em>, Akechi thought as he stared at the way how his cat hybrid boyfriend and recently adopted dog were both hissing at each other in a non-playful, aggressive way. </p><p>It happened on Saturday morning when brunet was walking down the street - that day his business meeting got cancelled right as he was riding a train towards the building, but instead of being overly petty he decided to surprise Akira by getting him a takeout as a breakfast in bed. Half-human had never set his foot outside their bed earlier than 11am, so Akechi was certain that raven was still napping at home and his surprise meal was going to succeed.</p><p>Although, nothing went according to his cheesy plan, because on his way back he got stopped with a low whine that came from an alley to his right. The businessman stopped on his tracks to check up on what was going on and after scanning around the area with his eyes he had discovered a box with a label ‘<em>free puppies</em>’ on it and a small, fragile fluff ball inside.</p><p>Akechi carefully crouched down next to it and observed an abandoned animal. Brunet had never had pets in his life. When he was younger he had always dreamed of having a dog, but considering the fact that his mother had committed suicide and he was thrown from one foster home into another all the time, there was never a way for him to even seriously consider such option.</p><p>The puppy was shaking from cold and trying to curl into a ball, constantly making faint sounds of discomfort or fear - he was not sure how to tell. He could not recognize the breed, but its fur had a similar color to Akechi’s hair, brown with hints of golden. The eyes that looked up at him held so much sorrow and loneliness, that businessman couldn’t bring it in him to just leave the puppy behind.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He was going to die here.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Alright, he could have carried the dog to an animal shelter if he remembered that his boyfriend with who he had shared an apartment for years now was a cat hybrid, and had not fancied dogs as much as Akechi did.</p><p>“I can’t do this! We have to get rid of him!” Cried out Akira as his thin, black tail swung left and right in distress meanwhile his ears pressed to the sides of his head, “Why did you bring the Devil into our household?!” The moment he said that, a mini-cry erupted from his lungs because the dog had the audacity to bite right at the tip of his tail, “<em>OUCH</em>!”</p><p>“Aish, stop that, Gold.” The brunet chuckled, trying to sound angry but completely failing the moment his eyes landed on the small creature on the floor, “You did that on accident, right? <em>Riiiight</em>?” Akira could not believe that he was feeling jealous over a fucking dog.</p><p>“THAT WAS <em>100%</em> INTENTIONAL WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AND YOUR CLEAR ASS JUDGEMENT?!” Raven cried out while holding up his tail in his hands this time, not risking his most sensitive area with monsters that had decided to walk the Earth.</p><p>“Wah, Akira, you’re being too loud. Can’t you see that you are scaring him?” Brunet scoffed at his boyfriend, but his eyes instantly softened the moment he felt a gentle lick on his palm from Gold, “What a good boy-“</p><p>“Oh, god. I can’t believe what I am seeing.” The cat-hybrid took a step back with clear disgust plastered all over his face, “My ex-serial killer boyfriend had gone soft for a fucking dog while dating a cat hybrid! You should be a cat person then! Why didn’t you bring a cat if you wanted a pet so bad?!” Akira’s tail was betraying him too much as it wiggled even though he was trying to still it in place.</p><p>“Do I look like I want another Morgana? I couldn’t wait for that thing to move out—“</p><p>
  <em>“He’s not a thing.”</em>
</p><p>“—of here. He was constantly complaining about how your food tastes better than mine, how I do not arrange things in the right places, how I should go to sleep when he tells me to. I have no <em>fucking</em> <em>idea</em> how you managed to live with that walking disaster for years without complaining.” Akechi finally finished up his rant as he scratched the puppy’s head.</p><p>“Alright, alright.” The other boy rolled his eyes, “It’s just.. <em>ugh</em>.. why a <em>dog</em> out of all things?” He questioned, to which the brunet stood up while holding Gold in his hands like a baby.</p><p>“Because I saw him and I knew that if I would leave him behind - he was going to die.” Confessed the man, “Nobody was going to pick him up, and eventually he was going to either starve or freeze to death. And I know that I might not be known for being sentimental, but this.. little life did nothing wrong to deserve this. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and if there was any way how I could have helped him, it was to gift him a nice home, warm food and a loving household.”</p><p>If Akira was being honest he did not expected for the things to escalate into such serious topic, but it was not like he minded too much. Maybe Gold was going to be like a therapy pet to his boyfriend, guide him to opening up and being more honest with himself. No matter how much his cat instincts were telling him to kick it out, he simply couldn’t do it after seeing the genuine look in his lover’s eyes.</p><p>“<em>Fine</em>.” Akira huffed while crossing his arms around his chest with a pout, “Just, <em>please</em>. Train it. Don’t let it fucking piss in the house or I will lose it.” He was not kidding about that part; same as animals hybrids had a very strong sense of smell, and if the first things that he was going to feel while coming back into his house after work was dog’s urine - <em>let’s just say he was not going to be pleased.</em></p><p>“Thanks, Akira.” The brunet put down the dog to let it roam around. Akechi’s smile that followed after the words had left his mouth made raven’s heart skip a beat and blush furiously at the contrast.</p><p>“Shut up.” The boy dramatically rolled his eyes and as he was about to turn around and leave towards the bedroom to sleep for an hour more, the businessman grabbed hybrid’s wrist and spun him around making their chests press together and their lips collide in a kiss.</p><p>Akira almost instantly melted into it, relaxing and closing his eyes as warmth bloomed all over his face. He felt his human boyfriend smile into the kiss as he wrapped his hands around Akechi’s neck feeling how sexual tension began to rise too quickly for him to even properly stand.</p><p>The next thing he knew his body was pushed against the wall with the brunet fully taking control over the situation and now ghosting around the hybrid’s neck while leaving love marks where the other could hide them. The room began to feel too hot, the clothes were too tight to keep on and just as Akira was about to try and tug away the brunet’s shirt—</p><p>“Woof! Woof!” <em>That fucking bitch barked.</em></p><p>And instead of telling him off, maybe locking him in one of the rooms in order to continue this - <em>Goro Akechi had the audacity to turn around and completely focus his attention on his pet instead of Akira.</em> Raven could not remember the last time he felt so disrespected, and he swore that if dogs could smirk, that would be the face expression that Gold would have at that moment.</p><p>“I did not just got cockblocked by a dog.” The hybrid whispered in disbelief as he intensively stared at the way how his boyfriend was sweetly laughing and scratching Gold’s stomach, “Ugh. I’m leaving.” Was all he said while picking up some clothes from the chair and heading towards the bathroom to dress up for classes.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Akira pretended to the rest of the world to be a human, of course. He disguised himself by wearing a wig on top of his head to hide his ears, contact lenses to hide his eyes if they turn cat-like by accident and his tail stuffed in clothes - usually strapped with something - in order to keep it from moving and looking too suspicious.</p><p>The world was not accepting of them, and most who got found out were sent into the laboratories due to the famous myth that hybrids could easily go berserk and kill humans.</p><p>But Akira had a completely normal life. After the Phantom Thieves business was over and they defeated Maruki - they had actually discovered Goro later on in Inaba; where raven was in order to visit his parents. After that, eventually they grew closer and closer, and moved in together back to Shibuya. Akechi finished his university a lot faster because he had taken a business major and was already 2 years working for a company of some sort. Meanwhile Akira was still going to his uni since he chose medicine course while having a part time job as a barman.</p><p>“And you look like you ended up under a rain again.” He heard a familiar sounding puff and faced no other but Shiho who studied in the same place as he did, “What happened?” She asked while settling down her bag that was stuffed with all kinds of books that she probably got from a local library in order to ace the next exam.</p><p>“Goro picked up a dog that he found on the streets.” Was all that he said while groaning, “And he is for sure not sending it into animal shelter.” He added at the end while coming up to the vending machine and typing in the number for a grape soda.</p><p>“What’s so bad about dogs?” Asked Shiho and he felt like clawing at someone. <em>Wasn’t it obvious?</em> Jesus.</p><p>“I’m a cat hybrid, Shiho. Of course that is a problem. We don’t- <em>Well</em>. Match.” Akira tried to explain without sounding like the most awkward person on Earth as he finally got the can in his hold and opened it up with a loud ‘<em>click</em>’.</p><p>“I know you are, Akira, but think about it that way. As hybrids we all went through a stage of particular abandonment or abuse. That dog - if Goro would not have taken it with himself - could have gotten into the hands of a cruel human. We all know that.. kind humans are rare, Goro is one of these special exceptions that accepts us.” Her voice sounded so sad, that it made the other boy feel uncomfortable. Shiho was a hybrid too. To be more precise, she was half-bird half-human, “My instincts used to always tell me to run away from you too, and did I do that?”</p><p>“No..” Akira shook his head while mumbling, “You didn’t.”</p><p>“See? And now that the time has passed my instincts don’t even recognize you as a threat! So.. Eventually, you’ll get over it. I know how hard it is in the start.. but think about the fact that you are doing this for Goro - not yourself.” She gave him small thumbs up, while cracking up a smile.</p><p>Raven had always felt inspired by Shiho. Unlike Akira who could easily disguise himself as a human, the brunette had to go as far as to cut off her own wings in the early childhood. There were times when she would come over simply to cry on his shoulder how she could not bare the thought of never being able to fly without even trying once, but now that years had passed and her nature calls had calmed down - Shiho was actually turning more and more.. <em>human</em> like. But it was nice to see. That was why Akira had to respect her advice, and take it to heart.</p><p>“I will try my hardest, Shiho. Thank you. This.. Meant a lot.” He grinned, his fangs shined for just a second in the light. That was the only part that he could never hide unless he would decide to arrange some type of surgery - which he was not planning on doing in the nearest future.</p><p>“You’re always welcome, Akira. Now, let’s get back to class.” She suggested to which the other had nodded while following behind her.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>The shift at the bar had taken him a bit longer than he expected. The customers kept coming and coming with his Boss requesting an extra hour of work. It was now 4am and raven stood in front of the door clearly pissed off. Not that he was super tired or anything, because he wasn’t. Usually he would go to sleep around 5-6am and wake up at 11-12am, but working an extra without any monetary bonus angered him.</p><p>Today was definitely not his day because the moment he opened the door after fidgeting with his keys for ages; his nostrils were hit with an agonizing smell of <em>dog’s urine</em>. One of his nightmares sadly came to life. His face paled with disgust. The inside of the apartment was lit with lights - an odd thing since Akechi would usually already be asleep when Akira would come back from work - with a stressed out businessman running out of their living room. Brunet’s face was flashed with worry, and he seemed like he was about to have a heart attack when he saw his boyfriend at the doorstep.</p><p>“W-welcome home, h-honey-“ Akechi tried to cover up the audible stutter, and mentally cursed himself for slipping up, “You’re earlier than usual, I have predicted for you to be at home around 3:30am.. What brought you here all of a sudden? How about you would go out for a breather?” He suggested while nervously rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>“<em>It’s 4am, Goro.</em> Tell me, what the <em>fuck</em> is this smell.” Akira scrunched up his nose, “Did that dog piss somewhere-?” He asked, already entering inside the apartment and messily pulling off his shoes, “<em>Goro</em>.”</p><p>“Uhm. No.” The brunet shook his head, “Gold did not do anything.”</p><p>“<em>Goro</em>.” Hybrid said in a lower tone while pulling off his wig, his ears finally unfolding after hours of being numb, “Don’t lie to me.”</p><p>“I swear.” The human put a hand on his chest, “I swear on the Phantom Thieves.” He said with a serious look.</p><p>“Honey, not to be mean but you swearing on the phantom thieves is pretty much an empty promise. Goro, where did that thing piss?” The boy asked once again getting impatient, “I can smell it, you know. And it fucking <em>stinks</em>.” He snarled in an aggressive tone, making his way forward towards the living room.</p><p>“No! Wait-!”</p><p>Akira had already peered his head inside the room and his jaw dropped at what he was witnessing. The puppy that his boyfriend had brought home had teared up the couch and urinated all over it. The worst part was that it was a place where hybrid had spent most of his time on, which basically meant that this dog was 100% aware of what he was doing.</p><p>“Akira, look, I know how it looks like and I am sorry that I let this happen. I was asleep, but then I heard that our vase had shattered and that’s when I woke up to check on everything and well-“ the half cat looked down on the floor and noticed pieces of glass everywhere. With a deep sigh he put his finger on businessman’s lips to make the brunet stop talking.</p><p>“<em>Just shush.</em>” He begged, “Goro, let me get one thing straight, alright?” Akira started while turning around to face his boyfriend, “You got a dog, right?” Brunet nodded, “Do you know anything about how to take care of dogs?” Nothing followed, “Ugh.”</p><p>“I will find out, I promise. Taking care of the dog shouldn’t be <em>THAT</em> hard!” Akechi defended, looking slightly offended.</p><p>“Goro, while I was gone did you buy him any food? Maybe toys? A collar? A leash? Anything? You didn’t. Sadly I can’t even blame the dog for pissing on the couch since he simply needed to go.” Hybrid sighed while crouching down to pick up the shards from the floor.</p><p>“Wait.. You’re not mad?” Akechi blinked his eyes in surprise, “Shouldn’t you be like — protesting against the dog being in here?”</p><p>“Is that what you want me to do? I’d do it any second.” Akira snorted while pilling up the glass in his palm.</p><p>“That’s not what I meant..” The brunet drifted off while giving a side eye to the puppy that was happily wiggling his tail, “I’m sorry..”</p><p>“Stop apologizing.” The hybrid rolled his eyes, “Clean up the floor, and I will deal with your dog.” The businessman was astonished with what his boyfriend just said but even more shocked by what had followed, “<em>You</em>.” Akira pointed his finger at Gold, bringing the animal’s attention fully onto himself, “Don’t think you can get away with this without punishment. But before I punish you it would be good to check wether it is an infection that made you do this. Since Goro is busy tomorrow I will take you to the vet for a checkup.” The hybrid smelled the area, “Smells like a normal urine though.” He groaned, “If this will happen again, you won’t escape my anger. This was my favorite couch, and I lost it because of a little trash like you.” He couldn’t hold back harsh words, but thankfully Akechi did not say anything to that.</p><p>“I didn’t know you had this much <em>knowledge</em> about.. dogs.” Businessman commented as he was done with collecting the rest of the broken vase into the separate trashcan for glass.</p><p>“I don’t want to talk about it.” Was all that Akira said, which perked up his boyfriend’s interest but he decided not to push any further, “Well, since you’re small then I’m sure that my old collar will fit you.” For a moment the raven walked away to their bedroom and came back with a leash and collar in his hands, “I will go and walk him out. Possibly buy food for him — he’s starving. You should go to sleep, you have work tomorrow.”</p><p>“Akira, I can go with him-“ the brunet stopped, “Where did that collar and a leash even come from?”</p><p>“Don’t ask! Ugh. Just- Go to sleep, Goro.” Akira rolled his eyes as he fixated everything on the puppy and dragged it behind himself, “When we will come back don’t take the collar off him, he will have to get used to it.” Was all he said as he disappeared behind the door, leaving his human lover confused.</p><p>Akechi never knew much about Akira’s past nor secrets. All that raven has ever shared with him was that his parents lived in Inaba, he got his cat genes from his father and that he suffered from ombrophobia (fear of rain). That was actually how he had even found out that the boy was not human, by catching him in mid panic attack in Leblanc during one stormy night. Well, that was in the past now and what he had to focus on was cleaning up the rest of the living room and going to sleep.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br/>Akechi woke up from his alarm, and as he stretched out his hand to turn it off he felt his fingers collide with soft fur of Akira’s ears. They immediately twitched away, but the hybrid stayed asleep - his back fully pressed against the businessman’s chest with his tail curled around his leg in a possessive manner. When the room stilled again in silence, Akechi realized that he could not even remember properly when exactly his boyfriend came back home and where Gold was at the moment.</p><p>“Akira..?” He carefully asked, while scratching behind the other’s ear to wake him up in a gentle manner. Soon enough the purrs could be heard from the depths of his boyfriend’s throat that filled up the whole room in a slight echo, “<em>Akira</em>~”</p><p>“Ngh..” the half-cat groaned, leaning into the touch, “Goro..?” He asked half asleep, as his eyes slowly opened up. The human was greeted with bright green irises and slit pupils, which meant that hybrid was still clearly disorientated to hide them, “Why are you.. waking me up.. so early..? ..Too tired..” most of his words came out muffed due to drowsiness, “Leave me alone..”</p><p>“What happened yesterday when I went to sleep?” He asked instead and ignored whines of his boyfriend.</p><p>“I walked him out, and went to visit one of my friends who has many dogs. I got some advice from them, dog’s food for puppies and other shit.. Ugh.. He’s sleeping outside of our bedroom though, and don’t ever dream of inviting him up here or I will seriously move- <em>aagh</em>-“ he yawned, his ears cutely pressed against his sides at that and his tail curled tighter around Akechi’s leg, “-out..” his eyes closed at the end of the sentence.</p><p>“Akira..” The brunet sweetly smiled and leaned down to peck his lover’s forehead, “Thank you. You really.. didn’t have to do that much for me. I appreciate that. I know how unpleasant that is to you, and yet you still went out of your way to do this much-“ he stopped when he noticed that raven’s breathing was a lot slower than usual, which meant that he was asleep.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Precious. You’re absolutely precious to me, Akira.”</em> </p>
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